Lydia Holland replaces the gas nozzle after filling up at a Sacramento gas station in 2014. The Tax Foundation says in a new report that California’s gas tax, which recently dropped by 6 cents a gallon, is now the nation’s fourth highest. | Rich Pedroncelli AP

Capitol Alert By Dan Walters dwalters@sacbee.com July 24, 2015

Pennsylvania has nation’s highest gas tax

California would have been No. 2 without recent cut

Alaska has the lowest tax on auto fuel

Both Congress and the California Legislature are noodling over whether to raise fuel taxes to pour more money into highway projects.

Anyone notice the price of gasoline this week? Of course, if you are like most Californians who have to drive to live (instead of living to drive like the car ads), you have noticed that the price of gas is up 80 cents a gallon in many locations. In some locations, the price is above five dollars a gallon!

Uber headquarters in San Francisco. (Eric Risberg / Associated Press)

By Laura J. Nelson, Andrea Chang and Paresh Dave July 15, 2015

Uber — plagued by problems with regulators, drivers and taxi unions around the world — took a big blow in its home state Wednesday when an administrative judge recommended that the ride-sharing giant be fined $7.3 million and be suspended from operating in California.

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In the past 72-hours the retail price of unleaded gasoline in the Inland Empire has spiraled out of control. It’s what happens when only four companies control the gasoline refining capacity for the entire state.

Health funding more politically difficult than roads, but both efforts uncertain

Inheriting a budget deficit when he took office in 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown tried for months – and failed – to reach agreement with Republicans to put a tax measure on the ballot. He finally bypassed the Legislature and went directly to voters himself.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Legislature is holding two special sessions this summer to tackle long-vexing funding shortfalls in the state’s transportation and health care programs. But talk of targeted tax increases has prompted political hand-wringing.

ONTARIO >> Since May, passenger activity at LA/Ontario International Airport is up nearly 2 percent. According to figures released by Los Angeles World Airports on Friday, 1.67 million passengers have used ONT in the first five months of the year compared to the 1.64 million for the same time in 2014.

An Uber driver is an employee, not an independent contractor, the California Labor Commission ruled this month, in a decision that foreshadows a big challenge to Uber’s business model and potential seismic changes to the nation’s classifications of workers.

SAN BERNARDINO >> More than half a million people rode the sbX rapid-transit bus line in its first year of service, according to Omnitrans — and they expect the next year, which just began, to boost that number significantly.

Los Angeles has defended contracts that gave it ownership of Ontario International Airport, denying the city of Ontario’s claims those agreements are so flawed they should be voided, despite decades passing since they were signed

Published: May 5, 2015 Updated: – 4:41 p.m.

Los Angeles has defended contracts that gave it ownership of Ontario International Airport, denying the city of Ontario’s claims those agreements are so flawed they should be voided, despite decades passing since they were signed.

To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press-Enterprise, click here.

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The comparative numbers are pushed by increased international passenger traffic that began April 2014

Published: April 30, 2015 – 3:17 p.m.

Ontario International Airport saw a 1.75 percent increase in passenger traffic for March compared to the same month last year, with international travelers bringing up the numbers because of flights that were added in April of last year.

To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press-Enterprise, click here.

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A Riverside Superior Court judge on Thursday denied the city of Los Angeles’ motion to throw out key parts of the lawsuit against it filed by Ontario over control of L.A./Ontario International Airport.

A Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied Ontario’s request that Los Angeles be compelled to release 399 documents in a lawsuit over control of L.A./Ontario International Airport. (Staff File)

RIVERSIDE >> A Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied a request requiring Los Angeles to release documents sought by Ontario, which the city’s attorneys say will help show why it should prevail in its lawsuit to gain control of L.A./Ontario International Airport.

Another piece of the Ontario v Los Angeles lawsuit for control of Ontario International Airport has gone before a state appellate court. (Stan Lim, Staff Photographer)

Published: April 10, 2015 – Updated: 11:32 p.m.

The lawsuit between the city of Ontario and Los Angeles over ownership of Ontario International Airport is months from its Aug. 17 trial date, but for the second time in this year, a piece of the case has gone to state appellate court.

To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press-Enterprise, click here.

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Attorneys for Ontario are petitioning the state 4th District Court of Appeal in Riverside to reverse a ruling upholding the decades-old agreement that gave Los Angeles control of L.A./Ontario International Airport.

The city of Ontario asked an appellate court on Tuesday to set aside and reverse a judge’s ruling that upheld decades-old agreements that gave Los Angeles control and ownership of Ontario International Airport.

Published: April 7, 2015 – Updated: 3:49 p.m.

The city of Ontario asked an appellate court on Tuesday to set aside and reverse a judge’s ruling that upheld decades-old agreements that gave Los Angeles control and ownership of Ontario International Airport.

To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press-Enterprise, click here.

Comments Off on The Press-Enterprise: Ontario: City petitions court to reverse airport ruling

SACRAMENTO, Calif. >> State lawmakers on Tuesday questioned the recent wild swings in California’s gas prices and asked whether regulators can do more to reduce market volatility while government promotes alternative fuels to increase competition.

The upswing in gasoline prices in California largely reflects stoppages at oil refineries that account for some 17% of the state’s production capacity. Above, a station in Santa Monica on Saturday. (Jerome Adamstein / Los Angeles Times)

By Tiffany Hsu March 4, 2015

Idled oil refineries have helped gasoline prices surge about $1 a gallon in California in a month

A passenger waits for his ride at L.A./Ontario International Airport in Ontario. The Ontario International Airport Authority claims a proposed map will contract the noise levels around (L.A./Ontario International Airport/Staff file photo)

ONTARIO >> The Ontario International Airport Authority has opposed a proposed map it claims will contract the noise levels around L.A./Ontario International Airport and shut out 800 residents from being eligible for sound insulation funding.

A cyclist rides by a sign at a gas station in Los Angeles posting the latest gas prices on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. Gas prices in California soared overnight as a result of a combination of supply-and-demand factors worsened by the shutdown of two refineries that produce a combined 16 percent of the state’s gasoline. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Gas prices are soaring in California in a classic example of supply and demand after an explosion stopped gasoline production at an Exxon Mobil refinery while another remains offline due to labor unrest.

REDLANDS >> With a voter-approved commuter rail project that would take riders from San Bernardino to Redlands and back looming as early as 2018, local public transit critics are ringing bells over its funding.

Eastern San Bernardino County movers and shakers, along with the usually delusional Inland Empire print media, steadfastly refuse to admit that San Bernardino International Airport is an unmitigated $300 million black hole.

RIVERSIDE >> Ontario’s lawsuit with Los Angeles seeking local control of L.A./Ontario International Airport will go to trial Aug. 17, a judge said Wednesday, but a new motion by the defendants aims to preempt that and get the case dismissed.

Shipping volumes at the Port of Oakland plunged 32% in January. That followed a banner year in 2014, when it saw record traffic because of L.A. and Long Beach congestion. Above, containers on a ship at the port. (Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

By Andrew Khouri and Tiffany Hsu February 18, 2015

The labor dispute that has stalled dozens of massive ships off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach isn’t limited to the nation’s busiest cargo complex.

Proposals starting to form in Sacramento and San Diego County By Chris Nichols Feb. 15, 2015

SACRAMENTO — With a shrinking pot of money to fix California’s roads, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins has vowed to push the state into “the next generation of funding” through a $52 per year “Road User Charge” for all drivers.

For decades, government failure after government failure has fallen on the Inland Empire.

Local officials for more than twenty-five years couldn’t see San Bernardino’s steady decline in progress. The city’s coffers were plundered to the point where redevelopment funds had to be essentially stolen to support the local governments general fund. When those funds were taken away by Governor Jerry Brown, the city filed for chapter 9 bankruptcy.

In this Jan. 14, 2015, file photo, incoming container ships line up outside the Port of Los Angeles as they await for dock space. Employers could lock out West Coast dockworkers in as few as five days if the two sides do not reach a new contract. That warning came Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015, from the head of a maritime association who is negotiating a new deal with a union representing longshoremen at 29 ports that handle about $1 trillion in trade annually. (Damian Dovarganes, FileAP Photo)

By JUSTIN PRITCHARD Associated Press

02/04/2015 7:01 PM

LOS ANGELES — West Coast seaports could shut down in as soon as five days — hobbling U.S. trade with Asia — if dockworkers and their employers cannot reach a new contract, the head of a maritime association warned Wednesday in remarks intended to pressure an agreement after nine months of negotiations.

ONTARIO >> A former high-ranking Federal Aviation Authority official said Monday that L.A./Ontario International Airport is a national asset that plays an key role in the national airspace system and deserves its chance to be economically successful.

Los Angeles and Ontario are fighting over how much LA put into Ontario International Airport for improvements; a forensic accountant concludes it was $4.5 million.

Published: Jan. 30, 2015 – Updated: 10:05 p.m.

Contributions from Los Angeles World Airports for improvements at Ontario International Airport have been “significantly overstated” and may be as little as $4.5 million, a forensic accountant has testified in a deposition.

To read story by Richard K. De Atley in The Press-Enterprise, click here.

A recent column about a growing backlog of deferred maintenance in the state highway system and the difficulty of raising more revenue for roadwork generated an unusually high number of reader reactions.